The hands-on instruction will take place at the award-winning 3 Howls Distillery. Owner and distilling expert Will Maschmeier will walk us through how to operate his equipment, preparing a mash for fermentation and what considerations need to be made in creating a perfect batch of spirits. Will and Todd will be on hand to answer any and all questions you might have about any aspect of running a distillery.

No other Workshop allows you to actually take control of a professional-grade reflux still and produce your own batch of spirits under the supervision of award-winning distillers.

If you’re looking to get ACTUAL hands-on experience, this is the Workshop for you. We’ll have a mash already made up for you, so all you have to focus on is getting your spirits to come out just right.

After your spirits run is complete, you’ll then be shown how to blend with distilled water in order to get the strength and flavor profile you’re looking for. From there, you’ll bottle your finished spirit and take it home with you!

As a special bonus, local cider expert and owner of Brownrigg Hard Cider Chris Brownrigg will be giving a special presentation on fruit fermentation, which will be essential for anyone looking to produce fruit-based spirits such as brandy.

Topics to be covered in the hands-on portion of the class are:

• Mashing
  • Grain choice
  • Temperatures
• Fermentation
  • Choosing the base product
  • Yeast choice
  • Vessel choice
• Distillation
  • Making the cuts
  • Temperature choice
  • Equipment design/performance
  • Still performance

Friday & Saturday: We’ll all meet at the classroom at 3 Howls at 9am. These days will consist of classroom learning with a lunch at around noon. You’ll also have access to the distillery to see the equipment, layout, etc. Class will conclude at around 5pm (depending on the number of questions).

Later on Saturday (7pm to 9pm), we’re holding a Tasting & Sensory Evaluation Event at a nearby restaurant called Outlier. For a small fee we’ll all be served numerous “short shots” of various spirits and we’ll attempt to sort out the different flavor profiles and distilleries of each. Our lead facilitator Todd Buckley will be on hand to help us determine the different notes and aromas we can experience. Excellent food will also be available there (this event is one of the highlights of all our Workshops, so feel free to bring your spouse or companion).

Sunday: Today is the hands-on portion of the Workshop, so please wear comfortable clothing and closed-toed shoes. We’ll be getting started at 9am. Will Maschmeier, founder of 3 Howls Distillery will be giving us an in-depth tour of the distillery, as well as taking us through his process of making award-winning spirits. Everyone will be able to operate one of our small reflux column stills and take home a bottle of spirits. Sharing the distillery space is Brownrigg Cidery, where the cidermaker will provide cider tastings and answer questions regarding fermentation and other distilling-related topics.

We’ll close class between 3pm and 5pm, depending on what’s going on in the distillery and how many questions people have.